January 15th

1870
First appearance of the Democratic donkey.

On January 14, 1870, the first recorded use of a donkey to represent the Democratic Party appears in Harper's Weekly. Drawn by political illustrator Thomas Nast, the cartoon is entitled "A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion." The jackass (donkey) is tagged "Copperhead Papers," referring to the Democrat-dominated newspapers of the South, and the dead lion represents the late Edwin McMasters Stanton, President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of war during the final three years of the Civil War. In the background is an eagle perched on a rock, representing the postwar federal domination in the South, and in the far background is the U.S. Capitol.

Four years later, Nash originated the use of an elephant to symbolize the Republican Party in a Harper's Weekly cartoon entitled "The Third-Term Panic." The cartoon referred to the disparaging response by The New York Herald to the possibility that Republican President Ulysses S. Grant might seek a third-term. The New York Herald is depicted as a donkey wearing lion's skin labeled "Caesarism." This bogus lion is frightening several timid animals identified with the names of opposing newspapers, such as The New York Times and The New York Tribune, while a berserk elephant, labeled "Republican vote," is tottering above a chasm labeled "Chaos" as it tosses to the right and the left the few remaining platform planks holding its weight. The caption of the cartoon reads: "An Ass having put on the Lion's skin, roamed about the Forest, and amused himself by frightening all the foolish Animals he met with in his wanderings."

~~~

1831
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is finished.

On this day in 1831, Victor Hugo finishes writing Notre Dame de Paris, also known as The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Distracted by other projects, Hugo had continually postponed his deadlines for delivering the book to his publishers, but once he sat down to write it, he completed the novel in only four months.This Day in History 1831: <I>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</I> is finished

January 16th

1547
Ivan the Terrible was crowned Czar of Russia.

~~~

1919
Prohibition takes effect.

The 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," is ratified on this day in 1919 and becomes the law of the land.This Day in History 1919: Prohibition takes effect

~~~

1953
Corvette introduced in New York.

The Chevrolet Corvette was introduced as a show car at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The car became an American classic almost instantly. Its sporty fiberglass body didn't look like anything else on the road. Although some car buffs criticized the sportscar for being underpowered, that didn't stop Corvettes from speeding off the showroom floors.

January 17th

1950Boston thieves pull off historic robbery.

On this day in 1950, 11 men steal more than $2 million from the Brinks Armored Car depot in Boston, Massachusetts. It was the perfect crime--almost--as the culprits weren't caught until January 1956, just days before the statute of limitations for the theft expired.This Day in History 1950: Boston thieves pull off historic robbery

***********************We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell

There are three kinds of people : Those who can count and those that can't.

On January 18, 1778, the English explorer Captain James Cook becomes the first European to discover the Hawaiian Islands when he sails past the island of Oahu. Two days later, he landed at Waimea on the island of Kauai and named the island group the Sandwich Islands, in honor of John Montague, who was the earl of Sandwich and one his patrons.This Day in History 1778: Cook discovers Hawaii

~~~

1912
Scott reaches the South Pole.

After a two-month ordeal, the expedition of British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month. Disappointed, the exhausted explorers prepared for a long and difficult journey back to their base camp.This Day in History 1912: Scott reaches the South Pole

***********************We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell

There are three kinds of people : Those who can count and those that can't.

January 19th

1807
Robert E. Lee born.

Confederate General Robert Edward Lee is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during most of the Civil War and his brilliant battlefield leadership earned him a reputation as one of the greatest military leaders in history as he consistently defeated larger Union armies.

~~~

1953
Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky.

On this day in 1953, episode #56, “Lucy Goes to the Hospital,” of hit 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy airs for the first time. The episode, in which Lucy Ricardo, famously played by Lucille Ball, gives birth to a son, was one of the most popular in television history. The ground-breaking episode was one of the first American television programs to deal with the issue of sex, a taboo subject in conservative 1950s America, when even married couples were not shown on television sharing the same bed. Forty-four million viewers, a full 72 percent of all U.S. homes with a television, tuned in; only 29 million viewers had watched President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s televised inauguration the previous night.This Day in History 1953: Lucy gives birth to Little Ricky

~~~

1977
Ford pardons Tokyo Rose.

On this day in 1977, President Gerald R. Ford pardons “Tokyo Rose.” Although the nickname originally referred to several Japanese women who broadcast Axis propaganda over the radio to Allied troops during World War II, it eventually became synonymous with a Japanese-American woman named Iva Toguri. On the orders of the Japanese government, Toguri and other women broadcast sentimental American music and phony announcements regarding U.S. troop losses in a vain attempt to destroy the morale of Allied soldiers.This Day in History 1977: Ford pardons Tokyo Rose

***********************We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell

There are three kinds of people : Those who can count and those that can't.

January 20th

Today is Inauguration Day. The Constitution mandates that each new president take the following oath of office:

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. George Washington also started a tradition of adding the line "so help me God."

Until 1937, Inauguration Day was March 4th. But it was changed in 1937 by the 20th Amendment, because there was no reason to have that much time between November elections and the inauguration.The shortest inaugural address was the first one, delivered by George Washington. It was 135 words long. The longest inaugural address was by William Henry Harrison — it was 8,495 words. There have been three poets who have recited at inaugurations. Maya Angelou read at Bill Clinton's first inauguration, Miller Williams at his second. In 1961, Robert Frost appeared at John F. Kennedy's inauguration. Frost wrote a poem specifically for the occasion, called "Dedication." It began:

Summoning artists to participate
In the august occasions of the state
Seems something artists ought to celebrate.
Today is for my cause a day of days.
And his be poetry's old-fashioned praise
Who was the first to think of such a thing.

And it ended:

A golden age of poetry and power
Of which this noonday's the beginning hour.

But because the January morning was so bright, and the glare on his faint typewritten paper was so intense, the 86-year-old Frost had a hard time reading the poem he had composed. So he recited one of his poems that he knew by heart, "The Gift Outright." It was a great moment for poetry.About a month ago, Barack Obama announced his inaugural poet: Elizabeth Alexander, a professor at Yale. Obama knows Alexander from the days when they both taught at the University of Chicago. And Alexander has been working on her inaugural poem ever since.

~~~

1981Iran Hostage Crisis ends.

Minutes after Ronald Reagan's inauguration as the 40th president of the United States, the 52 U.S. captives held at the U.S. embassy in Teheran, Iran, are released, ending the 444-day Iran Hostage Crisis.This Day in History 1981: Iran Hostage Crisis ends

***********************We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. ~Joseph Campbell

There are three kinds of people : Those who can count and those that can't.

I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. George Washingtonalso started a tradition of adding the line "so help me God."